Skane

Before the ferry 'Tinker Bell' drove straight into the 'Skåne', which was berthed at the quay in Trelleborg, the ship had left the shipyard in Klaipeda in an unseaworthy condition, according to the Swedish Transport Agency's inspection certificate. The ferry has been idle in the port of Trelleborg for ten days as of March 23, after it was banned from operating by the Swedish Transport Agency due to a number of defiencies, regarding both technology and safety systems as well as environmental and working conditions on board. The 'Tinker Bell' was prohibited from sailing further until the deficiencies are remedied. The Swedish Transport Agency listed 13 deficiencies in fire protection systems, including engine rooms. One point concerned deficiencies in emergency power sources. Another point concerned deficiencies in maintenance and inspection of life-saving appliances, four pointed out to deficiencies in the area of ​​environmental and working conditions. Among other things, defiencies regarding health and safety protection and accident prevention work, and also accommodation and leisure facilities were found and caused the sailing ban according to the Ship Safety Act. Photos of the ''Skåne' on March 19 in Warnemünde: https://www.shipspotting.com/photos/3950330?navList=gallery&category=39&page=1&viewType=normal&sortBy=newest https://www.shipspotting.com/photos/3950329?navList=gallery&category=39&page=1&viewType=normal&sortBy=newest https://www.shipspotting.com/photos/3950328?navList=gallery&category=39&page=1&viewType=normal&sortBy=newest

While the "Skåne" was back in service on March 13, despite the significant damage, the fate of the 'Tinker Bell' remained unclear with teh ship remaining stationary in Trelleborg. While the dent in the bow of the "Skåne" was clearly visible, no safety-related defects were found on Stena Line ferry during the investigations by the authorities and the classification society. The "Tinker Bell" had just arrived from a shipyard in Klaipėda, Lithuania, and therefore had no passengers on board. It was scheduled to return to service between Trelleborg and Travemünde. The Swedish authorities were investigating the exact circumstances of the allision. The condition of both ferries was examined, including hull surveys by divers. A technical defect in the steering system of the TT-Line ferry was thought to have caused the incident. Report and photos: https://www.nordkurier.de/regional/rostock/trotz-beule-stena-faehre-ist-nach-kollision-im-hafen-wieder-auf-kurs-4433721 https://www.shipspotting.com/photos/3950330?navList=gallery&category=39&page=1&viewType=normal&sortBy=newest https://www.shipspotting.com/photos/3950329?navList=gallery&category=39&page=1&viewType=normal&sortBy=newest https://www.shipspotting.com/photos/3950328?navList=gallery&category=39&page=1&viewType=normal&sortBy=newest

In the port of Trelleborg, there was an allision between the ferries 'Skåne', with 130 passengers on board, and the ''Tinker Bell' on March 11, 2026, at 1.30 p.m. The rescue services have been alerted to the scene and the Coast Guard was also on its way. The 'Skåne', having come from Rostock, was moored at the quay in Trelleborg, when it was hit by the other ship, which had arrived from Klaipeda after a yard maintenance, was entering port, when hitting the moored ferry with its port side bow. No injuries or oil leakage were reported. The 'Skåne' suffered significant bow damage above the waterline at port side. Divers were called to examine possible damage below the water line. At 4:30 p.m.all passengers and vehicles on the 'Skåne' were removed from the ship. The cause of the allision was a technical fault aboard the 'Tinker Bell', and as a consequence it lost steering. The exact circumstances and cause of the accident were being investigated. TT-Line was cooperating with the relevant authorities and the port's representatives. Both the 'Skåne' adnd 'Tinker Bell' remained in Trelleborg as of March 12 and was declared seaworthy after inspections. It was to resume its service on March 13 at 3 p.m. Reports with photos and video: https://www.sverigesradio.se/artikel/farja-i-kollision-i-trelleborgs-hamn https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/Rr77qd/aftonbladet-direkt?pinnedEntry=1450751 https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/skane/farja-i-kollision-i-trelleborgs-hamn https://www.facebook.com/reel/1206290824623975 https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/mecklenburg-vorpommern/trelleborg-faehre-skane-kann-nach-kollision-wieder-nach-rostock-fahren,trelleborg-100.html

On the night of March 3, 2026, the 'Skåne' requested the medevac of a 61-year-old crew member. The ferry's captain contacted the MRCC in Bremen of the DGzRS, at approximately 1:30 a.m. At that time, the ship was en route from Rostock to Trellebor. The serious medical emergency necessitated the urgent transport of a man to the hospital. The MRCC deployed the lifeboat 'Arkona' from the station Warnemünde and requested additional medical assistance. An emergency physician and two paramedics from the Rostock Fire Department accompanied the sea rescuers. The "Skåne" turned around andy sped towards the lifeboat at full speed. Approximately 4,5 nautical miles off Warnemünde, the emergency physician was transferred from the 'Arkona' onto the ferry via the pilot ladder. After assessing the patient's fitness for transport, the patient was embarked on the lifeboat shortly before 3:00 a.m. The transfer of the patient proceeded smoothly, thanks to very calm seas and a moonlit night. The emergency physician and paramedics attended to the man on board the 'Arkona'. At approximately 3:30 a.m., he was transferred to an ambulance in Rostock for further transport to the hospital. The ferry continued its journey to Trelleborg after the successful medevac.

An international SAR operation in the Baltic Sea has ended without success after a Polish passenger fell overboard from thr ' Skania' near the port of Sassnitz on Dec 28, 2025, while enroute from Ystad to the port of Świnoujście.   The crew issued a ‘man overboard’ alert following a witness report that one of the passengers had ended up in the water. The search operation began at around 4 p.m. and involved emergency services from Poland, Germany, Denmark and Sweden.  Poland’s Maritime SAR Service dispatched a helicopter from the coastal town of Darłowo, but it did not reach the search area before the operation was called off. The sea conditions were poor, describing the weather as post-storm. The search was ended at 6:21 p.m. after lasting several hours. Also the ferry 'Polonia', which had been in the vicinity, also took part in the operation. After several hours of delay, the 'Skania' arrived in Świnoujście without the missing passenger. 

On the evening of Aug 13, 2025, the drunken skipper of a sailing yacht allided with the pier in the Rostock seaport. The officer on watch of a cargo ship observed this at around 8:10 p.m. The 54 year old skipper, apparently unfit to drive, subsequently obstructed the approaching 'Skåne' as it turned for the berthing manoever. The Rostock Water Police arrested the skipper and conducted a breathalyzer test ashore. The test resulted in a blood alcohol level of 3.12 per mille. The 54-year-old German citizen subsequently had to submit to a blood sample. The railing on his boat was bent. The Water Police have opened criminal proceedings and are investigating on suspicion of endangering shipping. On the afternoon of Aug 15, the same sailboat, while anchored in the Dierkow Bay was drifting toward the Holz Peninsula. Attentive passersby were able to wake the sleeping skipper by shouting and initially manually secure the approximately 8-meter-long boat to the pier, the breathalyzer test conducted on the man, revealed a blood alcohol level of 1.06 per mille.

Because of a bomb alert, the "Skåne" was cleared in the evening of Feb 1, 2017, in Trelleborg just before the departure to Rostock. The alert later turned out to be unfounded. A box had been found in a cabin of the ferry which could not be assigned to anybody. At the time of the evacuation, 80 passengers and 40 crew members had been on board. Experts from the police had investigated the crate and with a four-hour delay, the ship left Trelleborg with 214 passengers aboard at 2 a.m. The captain was able to make up for two hours, thanks to a speedy ride on his way to Rostock where the ship berthed on Feb 2 at 8 a.m. Swedish report with photos: http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/XkX3m/passagerarfarja-evakuerad-efter-larm

In the afternoon of Mar 1, 2012, the "Skåne" was in collision with the Bahamas-flagged cargo m/v "Arklow Spirit“ on the Breitling between Rostock Seaport and Warnemünde. Both ships were damaged, no spills reported, no iunjuries. The ferry was able to resume its voyage to Trelleborg 90 minutes after the accidents after investigations were completed.